OK I got in contact with StepChange again and looks like they can help me after all. Hoping very much my creditors will accept their proposal.... fingers crossed

Unfortunately I contacted StepChange a while back (when they were CCCS) and they told me they were unable to help me with a debt management plan because of my circumstances.

Part of my current financial situation is due to depression. I think debt and depression often go hand in hand. I have spoken to a debt management company previously but they said my circumstances don't allow them to be able to help me, hence battling through it myself.

Surprisingly QuickQuid have pretty much agreed to my offer, they just won't accept a SO. I've also made a payment to them but it's not yet registered against my account. Wonga are being a pain after I refused to complete their very complex I&E form and send them bank statements. They said they can only manage it via me phoning them. Well I don;t really want to!

So I received this reply from Swift Sterling after several e-mails back and forth. I'm offering them £10 to start with. I've made a bank payment with their bank details I sneakily got but it's not yet registered against my account. Thank you for your email. In reference to what you have told us, the only alternative available for you would be option A in my email below. The debt management organisation we have proposed is a governmental organisation and therefore they do not charge you for their services. They would send you a pack in the post and you will need to fill in your list of creditors. Once you establish with them the amount that you would be able to afford each month, this will then be split between all your creditors. That way you will pay your creditors the amount you can afford. As I mentioned previously, Swift Sterling can only accept a minimum of £96.48 per month, therefore your only route is to contact a Debt Management company of your choice. It is in your best interest to let us know what you have decided. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Now I don't have to go with a debt management company do I????

Ah ok. So does that mean they can't legally claim any more money than the initial total of the loan? For example (plucking figures out of the air now) £300 loan for 30 days at a cost of say £100 so total amount repayable £400 They've rejected my offers (3 PDLs) but I've got the bank details for all 3 and I've just been reading through the OFT's guidelines for debt recovery, debt management plans and irresponsible lending (a little light reading for a Friday night!). I'm tempted just to go ahead and start paying as per my offers and keep e-mailing them with quotes from the OFT guidelines!

Also how can you prove to them you are in financial difficulty without doing a detailed I&E breakdown?

can you tell me where this is documented so i can reference it please? i'm being hassled to complete detailed I&E breakdowns for 3 PDLs and want to be able to back up my refusal with law! thanks

Thanks for the advice Does anyone know what charges & interest they are allowed to add on to the total amount initially owed?

Thanks for this. I'm currently on the phone to HSBC as they let one of the payday loan payments go through despite me cancelling the CPA and the other 3 loans I asked to be stopped, were stopped. My HSBC account shout have actually been closed at the end of last week as I changed bank accounts... still on hold... oh the joys. I've e-mailed the PDLs but am being ignored via e-mail and hassled to call them (which I'm not going to do). Want to set out my repayment plan offer and just start paying them but of course getting their bank details is like pulling teeth. Any advice?

I really wish I'd found this forum 2 years ago when I was battling with Tesco! Many thanks, I shall stand firm against the PDLs I'm currently fighting with. This is my most favorite forum ever

Oh I didn't realise this. I had to complete detailed I&E forms for my negotiations with Tesco Finance over a loan I have with them - Is the same true for non PDLs then?? Many thanks, excellent info

Hi, just come across this. I thought I'd read somewhere not to send a PDL company an I&E form - can you tell me why this is? Thanks

Hi all, looking for a bit of advice please. Like a lot of other people on here I'm in a lot of debt (especially for someone with no mortgage) but I do have some reasons and excuses as well as my own stupidity, so it's not all reckless spending! I negotiated reduced payment plans about 2 years ago with Tesco (loan) & Barclaycard which I've stuck to and made all the payments (a long way to go yet before it's all paid off). I've got a few other debs / cards etc which I'm managing but now unfortunately I've got myself into a mess with payday loans. I really do regret this big time. I currently owe money to QuickQuid, PayDayUK, Swift Sterling & Wonga. Now I can't pay them without not paying all my priority debts so I've changed my bank account, changed where my salary is paid into, cancelled the CPA for each loan with my old bank and e-mailed each company to tell them I've cancelled the CAP and that I'm in financial difficulty. So now the fun begins.... Having gone through the 'I can't afford to pay you' process with Tesco and Barclaycard (by the way I have found Barclaycard and Barclays bank the most reasonable people on the planet) and had a very traumatic 6 month battle with Tesco, I want to know if the same rules apply with the payday loan companies. Essentially I want to know: 1. Am I obliged to send them an income expenditure breakdown to support my reduced payment plan offer? I read somewhere that I should not do this for payday loan companies 2. How much interest / charges can they legally whack onto my account? As these are 30 day loans are there any rules on what they can actually make me pay back? I know they are going to play hard ball but having been through the process with Tesco, I am more confident in playing hard ball back! I'm not looking to avoid paying; I owe the money and it's my responsibility to pay it all back BUT none of these companies did a proper affordability assessment on me and I don’t believe they properly credit checked me otherwise I would have been refused.... not that that’s an excuse negating me of my responsibilities, but I couldn’t afford these loans in the 1st place. I stumbled across this forum (probably like most people) whilst trawling the internet for debt advice on how to get yourself out of a massive hole... the expert and non judgmental advice I have seen so far is invaluable. Please would you be so kind as to do the same for me! Many thanks